Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the country’s economy, with the unemployment rate reaching an all-time high in many states. One of the worst-hit states is California, where the rate of unemployment was incredibly high, especially in Santa Clarita. Although the national and federal governments have tried to come up with measures to curb the spread of the virus that has claimed thousands and left more people unemployed, it appears that the state and the country have a long way to go before the resumption of normalcy. Therefore, this essay provides realistic solutions towards solving the issue of unemployment during this challenging period.
Embracing Technology
A post-COVID-19 future is dependent on technology. Before the pandemic, the role of technology in contemporary was restricted to basic task like communication, but in the near future, people need to rethink how they use technology if they are to revive their economies that have suffered a massive setback in the last year (Martin et al., 453). Business interruptions worldwide and the implementation of lockdown measures have affected income, savings, and consumption. In the process, it has elevated the rate of poverty in the country. Many households and families have been affected by the pandemic. According to the California Poverty Measure (CPM), the rate of poverty has increased as high as 23.0% in places like Los Angeles (Martin et al., 477).
For this reason, people need to come up with modern ways to tackle a modern issue that has surpassed any other contemporary problem faced in the recent past. During the pandemic, many people turned to information and communication technology to work from home. Platforms like Zoom and other online social media platforms helped ensure that people worked in their own safe spaces while avoiding social contact. This strategy also helped minimize the losses that companies would have incurred during the pandemic. It also helped secure jobs as more people were encouraged to work from home. The use of technology to sustain and improve the economy is visible and evident.
As companies strived to reduce workers’ exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, they helped drastically grow and improve the teleworking infrastructures and services that were already available and gave rise to new ones. It was also interesting to see how governments all over the world responded to this transition from physical workplaces to remote and working spaces by supporting the move through suitable labor and union policies on teleworking. It is also important to note that companies also stepped up by providing their workers access and assistance to their communications and sharing tools. Such steps form the foundation for the future of technology in businesses. Technology encourages flexibility, which is an essential aspect of economic growth and job creation.
The youth make up a large part of the American population that is currently unemployed. The situation was made worse by the fact that more young people lost their jobs during the pandemic. It is estimated that more than one in 10 young people lost their jobs during the pandemic, and the numbers could be higher in some parts compared to others (Machin, 1). Nevertheless, technology and the internet are significant strongholds the young people capitalize on in normal circumstances. It is here that they interact with their peers, learn, and work in the recent past. Transitioning to teleworking proved to favor the young people who were already using technology to find their place and voice in modern society (Joshi, 101).
In recent months, companies have turned to young people who are more conversant in digital communications and technologies. This provides an employment shift where young people who are better with technology are relatively more flexible than their senior colleagues. Flexibility and technology as some of the key elements required in the post-COVID-19 period. These elements help employ young people and minimize unemployment rates. This means that in the near future, companies that embrace technology can capture senior and more experienced individuals to work on-site while employing young, flexible, and technology-conversant individuals to work online from any location. Such steps will help improve the businesses’ performance, provide employment to a broad population scope, and increase internal competition. It will also help save on the cost of living for those who will be working from home and save that on office space. This means that companies can employ many virtual workers regardless of space.
In California, young people are the future of the economy. Promoting the use of technology has helped grow many startups that continue to incorporate technology through innovative thinking. A digital economy promises jobs for many young people that already have the necessary skills and tools to grow the economy. Lessons from the industrial revolution need to be utilized in countries like the United States are to revive their economic glory. One such lesson is the importance of having technology and people that are well-conversant with it leading from the front. Also, this is one way of tackling the issue of unemployment.
Better Post-Pandemic Policies
Policies are a vital factor when building the economy and trying to deal with unemployment. During the pandemic, a set of policies aimed at curbing the spread of the virus and preventing a total collapse of the economy was enacted, thus saving millions. This is an example of the role of good policy in the growth of any economy. In California, for example, measures in the form of policies were enacted that saw the intervention of unemployment insurance (UI) and the CARES Act federal stimulus that helped reduce the poverty rates and reduce the economic recovery time (Martin et al., 453).
Such policies are required in the post-pandemic future and especially around unemployment. Providing payouts to those affected by the pandemic helps ensure that households have their daily provisions while also sustaining the economy. In the future, the government needs to look beyond providing stimulus programs to its people and develop policies that help solve the issue of unemployment. Currently, there are programs like the Unemployment Insurance Extension, which houses both the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation programs; and the Stimulus Checks (Martin et al., 461). While such programs prove beneficial in dealing with the current crisis and preventing poverty, the government needs to develop legislation that promotes new business and supports the existing ones.
Silicon Valley has invited many startups in the past, and the economy has grown tremendously while also providing employment opportunities to citizens all over the country. Unfortunately, in the recent past and during the pandemic period, many companies have left California for other states primarily due to the policies set up by the federal government. CEOs from different companies have stated that the cost of living in California is relatively high compared to other states. The same can be said about the taxes and the cost of real estate. Such factors negatively contribute towards achieving economic revival and curbing unemployment. The federal government needs to revisit some of these policies while also coming up with new ones to tackle the growing unemployment crisis.
The new digital economy needs to be structured around policies that seem to support civil society organizations that support the youth. In the past, the private sector and the government have pointed to each other when it comes to the creation of jobs and enactment of policies that allow for the creations of employment, respectively. The conversation that needs to be held during and after the COVID-19 pandemic needs to around which jobs need to be created, how and why to tackle unemployment.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the unemployment menace that continues to affect modern economies, and in most cases, it has made it worse. Technology and supportive policies are some of the main ways countries and regions worldwide can tackle the issue of unemployment and poverty. During the pandemic, teleworking has largely been utilized to ensure that businesses and economies remain afloat. This is an example of how technology can be used in today’s economy. Nevertheless, governments need to build on this foundation if they are to get a grip on the alarming rate of unemployment.
